


Perils of Parenting

by MariaClaire



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Future Fic, Percy and Annabeth as parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26350675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaClaire/pseuds/MariaClaire
Summary: When Annabeth goes out of town for a conference, Percy is on his own for a few days with their three-year-old son.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 17
Kudos: 226





	1. Out of Town

**Author's Note:**

> ***Just under a month until Tower of Nero comes out! So here's a future-fic, before the final book comes along and canon-balls my head-canons, ha.
> 
> *Note: There is some very mild innuendo, because they are married, after all. ****

**Chapter 1: Out of Town**

"Okay, buddy, which pair?" Percy asked, holding out one set of pajamas with dinosaurs on them and a second set with sharks.

His three-year-old son frowned thoughtfully, debating the difficult choice. Then he smiled brightly and said, "Sark!"

"Good choice." Percy put the dinosaur pjs away, then helped his son into the shark pajamas. "Alright, Ryder, let's go say good-night to Mommy. Then it's bedtime."

Annabeth was in her office. She was leaving in the morning for a conference, and she'd spent most of the past two weeks working on the presentation she would be giving while there. To say she was stressed out about it would, Percy knew, be a major understatement. His wife was a nervous wreck. But she looked up and smiled when their son ran into the room, calling out, "Mama!"

She held out her arms and scooped him into her lap when he ran to her. "How was bathtime?"

"Fun! I splashed!" Ryder rattled off a complicated story he'd made up about his toys while he was in the bathtub. Annabeth nodded and listened intently, while Percy watched the scene from the doorway, enjoying the moment. Especially when Annabeth glanced up briefly and they shared a quick smile.

"That sounds fun," she said when the three-year-old finally reached the end of his story. "And did Daddy help you clean up the bathroom?" Their son was notoriously good at splashing water everywhere.

"Yes! He make all the water go back in the tub."

"Bathtime is kind of my specialty," Percy said.

"Everybody has a talent," Annabeth replied.

Percy chuckled. "Something like that. Okay, Ry, tell Mommy good night so she can get back to work."

Ryder stuck out his bottom lip. "No story?"

Annabeth ran her fingers through her son's damp blonde hair. "You know, Daddy tells good stories, too."

"Want Mommy story." He turned his big green eyes up to his mother. "Please?"

Her eyes flicked to her laptop, but she sighed. "One story."

"Yay!" Ryder wriggled out of Annabeth's arms, then ran out of the room.

Percy turned his head to watch his son run down the hallway, making sure he went into his own bedroom. Then he looked back at his wife, who had stood up and was stretching and yawning. "I never thought you'd be a pushover."

"Like you can say no when he looks at you like that. Plus, I'm going to be gone for almost five days." She took Percy's hand. "And I needed a break. So, storytime."

"Makes sense. Got one in mind already?"

"Yeah, I know a great one about guinea pigs and pirates."

"I see how it is."

Annabeth laughed and kissed his cheek. When they reached their son's room, Ryder was staring into his fish tank. The goldfish, which had been a birthday present from his enthusiastic Aunt Estelle, was swimming in a circle, as usual.

"Alright, Ry." Percy scooped his son up. "Tell your fishy good night."

"Night, fishy!" Ryder waved to it, as usual. Then he bounced in Percy's arms and looked around until he spotted Annabeth, already sitting on the bed. "Now story, Mama!"

"Now story," she agreed, holding out her arms, and Percy handed her their son before dropping onto the relatively new "big boy bed" beside her. "So, once upon a time, there was a magical island…"

After Ryder went to sleep, Annabeth went back to her office to fine-tune her presentation. Percy sprawled on the living room couch, drowsily watching a college basketball game. It had been a long day at work. He was glad he'd taken the next two days off to be home with Ryder while Annabeth was out of town, since she normally worked from home a couple of days a week. When the game ended, Percy yawned widely, turned off the TV, and hauled himself off the couch.

He stopped by Annabeth's office on his way down the hall. "Hey, I'm headed to bed. You coming soon?"

Her eyes stayed fixed on her computer screen. "Uh, yeah, there should be. I went to the store yesterday."

Percy rolled his eyes. But after this long together, he was used to it. This was just how she got when she was focused on a major project. "Don't stay up too late."

* * *

When Percy woke up, he was aware of two things: it was the middle of the night, and something was off. He blinked blearily at the alarm clock, which said 2:47 a.m. Turning his head to the other side, he realized what felt wrong: Annabeth still wasn't in bed. Percy groaned into his pillow. Then he dragged himself up and padded down the hall to go get her.

On the way, he stopped at his son's room. Ryder was sprawled on his sheets. In the dim glow of the fish tank, Percy could see he'd kicked most of his covers off. So Percy covered him back up, tucked the blankets in more securely, and gave his son a featherlight kiss on the forehead. Then he continued down the hall to where light was pooling on the floor as it spilled from Annabeth's office.

She was still sitting at her desk, nose two inches away from her computer screen. The desk lamp cast a soft glow over the blueprints and sketches covering the walls. Percy leaned against the doorframe. "Hey, Wise Girl."

Keeping her eyes on her screen, she said, "I'm almost done. I'll come to bed at midnight."

Percy raised an eyebrow, then shook his head and stepped into the room. Annabeth didn't look up as he walked over to her desk, but when he rested his hands on her shoulders, she didn't shrug him off, so he knew he was okay. He leaned down to kiss her neck. "Baby, it's almost three a.m."

That got her attention. When she turned to look at him, her stormy eyes were bloodshot. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Annabeth cursed. "My flight is at ten! We need to leave in like four hours!"

"I know. And our son will probably be up in about three hours, so…" He squeezed her shoulders. "Come to bed."

"Fine." She sighed and clicked a few icons on her computer, presumably to save her work. "There's nothing else I can do on this stupid presentation anyway. Gods, I'll be glad when it's over." She snapped her laptop shut, then stood up, turning to drape her arms around Percy's neck.

He hugged her, rubbing circles on her back. "You're going to do awesome. That's why they picked you."

She nuzzled his neck. "You're sweet. I think I'll keep you."

He grinned into her tangled hair. "Glad to hear it."

On the way back down the hall, she asked, "Did you check on the baby?"

"Yeah." Percy squeezed her hand. "He kicked all his blankets off again."

Annabeth shook her head. "He is ridiculously squirmy."

"And he was drooling."

"Gee, I wonder where he gets that from."

"No idea."

Percy climbed back under the covers while Annabeth got ready for bed. When she crawled into bed a few minutes later, she immediately curled up against his side. Percy's arm settled easily around her. Comfortably snuggled up with his wife, Percy fell back to sleep.

He woke to the sound of retching. Slivers of light outlined the bathroom door. Frowning, Percy threw back the covers and tapped on the door. "Annabeth? You okay?"

He heard water running in the sink, then Annabeth croaked, "Fine."

"You sure?" The door swung open, revealing Annabeth brushing her teeth. Her face was pale and sweaty. Percy raised an eyebrow. "No offense, but you don't look fine."

His wife shot him a glare that was less fierce than normal as she finished brushing her teeth. "This damn presentation is making me sick to my stomach. I threw up yesterday, too."

Percy leaned against the doorway, watching as Annabeth splashed water on her face. "You can't let it get to you like that. It's going to be fine."

"I know." She gripped the edge of the sink. "I just don't want to mess this up. I'm representing the entire firm and it could potentially lead to some freelance jobs and…" Her voice trailed off as she heaved a sigh. "I'm probably just getting way too worked up about this, aren't I?"

"Maybe." Percy put his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. She relaxed against him. "Especially since you, my love, are Annabeth Chase, official architect of Olympus. I mean, I know you can't tell them that, but it's still true. It's like an honor for them to get to hear your presentation."

Annabeth laughed lightly. "Don't oversell it, Seaweed Brain. But thanks." She tilted her head up to smile at him. "And it's Annabeth Jackson now, thank you very much."

"You're welcome very much." Percy grinned when she smacked his arm and muttered, "Idiot." Some things never change.

"Hi, fishy!" Their son's voice carried down the hall as he greeted his goldfish, the first thing he did every morning.

"There's the alarm," Percy said.

"At least he's cute." Annabeth squeezed his arm. "You want to get that so I can jump in the shower? We need to leave for the airport in about half an hour."

"Yeah, I've got him." He tightened his hands on her waist. "Although I wouldn't mind joining you."

She shot him a wicked little smile that made his spine tingle. "Save that thought for when I come home on Sunday."

Before Percy could respond, Ryder called out cheerfully, "Mama! Daddy! I's awake!"

"Go." Annabeth pushed his chest lightly and shut the bathroom door.

Before he walked away, though, Percy said, "I'm holding you to that, Mrs. Jackson!"

"It's a date!" she called through the door as the shower turned on.

Smirking, Percy headed down the hall to get his son ready for the day.

* * *

After a rushed breakfast, Percy loaded Annabeth's suitcase into the back of the car while she strapped Ryder into his carseat. On the drive to the airport, the three-year-old made his toy plane, a gift from Annabeth's dad last Christmas, zoom around the car. Occasionally he stopped imitating plane sounds long enough to pepper his mother with questions about the airplane she was going to be flying in, which she very patiently answered.

"When you going to fly, Daddy?" Ryder asked seriously.

Percy glanced back at him in the rearview mirror. "Daddy doesn't really fly much, buddy. So probably not soon."

He expected a follow-up question, but Ryder just frowned thoughtfully, then asked, "Mommy, is other people on the plane with you?" and the conversation went on from there.

They parked in the parking garage so Percy and Ryder could actually walk Annabeth into the airport, since the questions about the plane had morphed into questions about exactly how long Mommy would be gone, which had resulted in a trembling bottom lip and reassurances that Mommy would definitely be back, and in the meantime, he got to hang out with Daddy, which would be lots of fun. Still, he clung to Annabeth's neck when she carried him into the airport, a very uncertain look on his face as he studied the crowds of people.

"Alright, buddy," Percy said when they reached the terminal and stopped a little ways outside security. "This is as far as you and I can go."

Ryder tightened his arms around Annabeth's neck. "How come?"

"Because you have to have a plane ticket to go through security," Percy explained as Annabeth cuddled her son. "So only Mommy gets to go."

"But I'll be home in four days," she assured him. "And you can tell me stories about all the fun things you and Daddy are going to do."

Lip trembling, Ryder said, "But I no want you to go."

"I'm sorry, baby, but I have to go. But I love you so, so much." Annabeth kissed his forehead, his chubby cheeks, and the tip of his nose, which actually drew a grudging smile from him. "And guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm going to bring you back a special surprise present."

He perked up at that. "Present?"

"Yep. But you have to be good and help Daddy, okay?"

After considering that briefly, Ryder nodded and said, "Okay."

"Awesome. Alright, I really have to go. I love you." She kissed Ryder again, then passed him to Percy, which took a little extra effort, since he didn't immediately want to let go of her neck.

"Have a great trip," Percy said once his son was settled on his hip. He held out his other arm to Annabeth and she stepped into his embrace, briefly burying her face in his chest. He hugged her tight. "Your presentation is going to be amazing."

"I hope so." She kissed him, lingering for a few moments. "Take care of our little guy."

"Of course. I've got this."

"I know you do." She smiled, then leaned over to kiss their son's cheek again.

"Call when you get there." Percy kissed her again. "I love you."

"I love you, too. See you in a few days."

Percy waited until she was out of sight, since Ryder didn't stop waving at his mom until she gave him a final wave and disappeared down an escalator. When he saw his son's lip start to tremble again, Percy bounced him gently and said, "Hey, how about we stop at the park on our way home?"

Ryder perked up at the suggestion, so Percy carried him back out of the terminal to the car, though he himself threw one last, possibly wistful, look over his shoulder at the spot where his wife had disappeared.

The rest of the day was pretty good. The weather was beautiful, and they spent several hours at the park. They got fast food burgers for lunch, and Percy might have let his son get a kids' meal with the toy, which was a special treat. Shortly after they got home, Annabeth called to say she'd landed safely in Miami, Florida, and was already checked into her hotel. Ryder spent several minutes on the phone filling her in on the park and his new plastic toy. Then, Percy and his son spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at home. And, almost as reliably as clockwork, every hour, Ryder asked how much longer until Mommy came home. By evening, Percy exhaled heavily, thinking it might be a long few days.

They had hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner (because why not?), then watched Finding Nemo for what was roughly the forty-seventh time. Percy could quote the scenes with the turtles word for word. But he was also pretty happy that his son liked sea creatures so much.

When the movie ended, Ryder sprang up off the couch and announced, "Bathtime!"

"Yeah, little guy, it's bathtime." Percy had heard of other kids who hated taking a bath. When Estelle was two, she'd screamed every time someone tried to put her in the water. Luckily, Ryder had no such issues. Bathtime was his favorite. Percy was pretty happy about that, too. It reminded him of the first time he'd taken his son to the beach. Ryder had only been a few months old, but he'd squealed happily, kicking his tiny feet in the water, and Percy had felt like something settled into place in his chest. As his now three-year-old son beamed at him, tugging at his hand, Percy had one of those moments where it almost overwhelmed him, just how much he loved his child. Sometimes he couldn't even believe that this was his life now. But it was. And the home and family he and Annabeth had built together made everything they'd gone through to get here worth it.

So Percy let his son pull him off the couch and march him down the hallway. And when Ryder asked him to "speak whale like Dory," Percy did his best. Because there had been a time when he would have given almost anything to be here. And he tried his best to never take what he had for granted.

* * *


	2. Fishy Funeral

The night was going smoothly until Percy ducked across the hall into Ryder's room to grab his pajamas. That was when he discovered the goldfish.

The fish was dead. Like belly-up floating, no response, dead. Percy poked it and it bobbed pathetically. He debated giving it fish CPR, but common sense plus his powers told him it was way too late. His son's goldfish was dead.

Percy swore under his breath. Truthfully, he was surprised the fish had lasted as long as it had. Most goldfish made it a few weeks. This one had lasted a few months, ever since Ryder's third birthday. Unfortunately, that just meant the kid was pretty attached to it. He was going to be devastated. And of course it would happen when Annabeth was out of town.

Percy could hear his son splashing in the bathtub across the hall, happily singing some nonsense song he'd made up. Since he didn't have a solution for the fish situation, and since he didn't want to leave Ryder alone in the tub for long, Percy grabbed the pjs and headed back into the bathroom.

Absorbed in playing with his plastic shark, Ryder didn't even look up. He was making it leap in and out of the bubbles, and splashing water over the sides of the tub onto the floor. Percy sighed as he set the clean pajamas on the edge of the sink. It took barely any concentration for him to transfer the water back up the sides of the tub and into the bath. Since his son was already clean, Percy let him play while he leaned against the sink and tried to figure out what to do.

He thought about calling Annabeth, but he knew she had conference events until late in the evening. Plus, she would be giving her presentation tomorrow morning. He didn't want to distract her, especially when there wasn't anything she could do to fix this problem.

When Percy sat down on the closed toilet lid, Ryder finally looked at him. He held up his shark proudly and said, "Sark, Daddy."

"Yeah, buddy." Percy smiled. "What kind of shark is that?"

"Ham head!"

"Close enough."

Ryder went back to singing his song and swinging his shark around, sending waves sloshing over the sides of the tub again. This time, Percy didn't even bother to clean it up. He'd just wait until after he was out of the tub. When most of the water would be on the bathroom floor. Ryder was a very enthusiastic bath-taker.

Percy watched his son play for a couple minutes, trying to think. The easy solution would be to pretend everything was fine tonight, then quietly flush the fish and pick up a new one in the morning. But something about that felt deceitful. Ryder loved that fish—didn't he deserve to know the truth about what happened? Shouldn't he be allowed to grieve for it if he wanted? Could a three-year-old even understand that concept? Ryder had a contented smile on his face as he played, now with a boat in his other hand, and Percy felt a pang in his chest. He knew what it meant to lose friends and to grieve. He didn't want his son to have to deal with that yet. Which, he reflected, was maybe something he should have considered before telling his mom, yeah, that was fine if Estelle wanted to get her nephew a fish for his birthday.

An old memory floated to the surface of his brain. He'd had a goldfish when he was about four or five, shortly before Smelly Gabe came into the picture. When it had died, as inevitably all goldfish did, his mom had helped him prepare a "fishy funeral." They'd put it in an empty macaroni and cheese box, carried it to Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan, then given it what his mom called a "burial at sea" by dropping it into the harbor. Maybe not the most eco-friendly way to dispose of it, but one small cardboard box was the least of the harbor's problems. His mom had let him say a sad good-bye as the box sank, then encouraged him to tell her his favorite memory with his fish, which he did. And he was pretty sure they'd stopped for ice cream on the way back uptown.

_Okay_ , Percy thought now, _that's a gameplan I can work with. Hopefully._

"Alright, Ry," he said. "One more minute."

Ryder's bottom lip popped out in a pout, but Percy gave him a look and it disappeared. They'd been through this enough that his son knew if he threw a fit, he wouldn't get his last minute in the tub. So instead, he settled for splashing even more vigorously. Water went everywhere. If Percy hadn't been able to will his clothes dry, his jeans would have been soaked.

Percy slowly counted to one hundred in his head, because he knew how much his son did love the water, then stood up to grab Ryder's towel off the rack and said, "Okay, little guy, let's go. Time to get out."

Ryder pouted again, but he didn't whine. Instead, he neatly lined his toys up along the edge of the bathtub. That trait, Percy knew, along with his blonde hair, came directly from Annabeth. When all the toys were perfectly aligned, Ryder stood up and let Percy wrap the towel around him.

Once his son was dried off, dressed in his pajamas, and had brushed his teeth, Percy walked him out to the living room. He didn't want to take Ryder into his bedroom yet, where the fish was still floating belly-up in its little aquarium. Instead, he lifted his son onto the couch, then knelt down in front of him so they were at eye-level.

Percy wasn't sure exactly how to start, so he decided to be as straightforward as possible. "Hey, Ry, I have to tell you some sad news." He paused, then said, "I'm really sorry, buddy, but your fishy died."

The little boy's brows drew together, as if he was trying to figure out how to process that statement. After a moment of apparently puzzling it out and getting nowhere, he asked, "What that mean?"

_Crap. How do you explain death to a three-year-old?_ Percy hesitated, then said, "It means that fishy went away."

"Like Mommy?"

_Double crap._ "Not exactly. Because Mommy's going to come back."

"Fishy no come back?" Ryder's lip trembled and Percy cursed in his head. Gods, he wished Annabeth was home. Thinking fast, he moved to sit on the couch and pulled his son into his lap.

"Okay, so, yes, when someone we love dies, it means they're not here anymore. Well, their body is here, but their soul isn't…" Percy's voice trailed off as Ryder looked up at him with a frown. "That's more confusing. Let me try again. Do you remember when you lost your lion?" His son had been obsessed with a stuffed lion toy, taking it everywhere with him, until it had disappeared one day a couple months ago when they'd been out running errands. Percy and Annabeth had gone back to every store and location they'd been to that day, but the lion didn't turn up. They'd both felt horrible, especially since Ryder kept crying for his toy, until they'd come up with an explanation. Now, when Ryder nodded, Percy said, "Mommy and I told you that Lion still loved you, but he had to move on to help a new kid who needed him. Right?"

"Uh-huh." His son's lip trembled again, though.

"That's kind of like what happened with your fish. He's moved on to a new place. But it's okay to be sad and miss him."

Ryder sniffled. "No more fishy?"

"No more fishy," Percy confirmed, hating to have to say it. He hugged his son. "But you can say good-bye to him. And we're going to have a funeral tomorrow. That's like a special celebration just for your fishy. How does that sound?"

He still wasn't sure exactly how much of this Ryder really understood, but he did nod and say, "Okay." However, his bottom lip continued to tremble, and he asked, "I sleep in your room?"

Percy inwardly sighed. "Sure, buddy. You can sleep in my room."

* * *

How was it possible that someone so small could take up so much space? Yet somehow, Ryder managed to sprawl across a significant portion of the king-size bed, sending Percy scooting towards the edge to avoid being kicked or smacked. This was why they normally encouraged their son to sleep in his own bed. But tonight, Percy hadn't had the heart to make him. On the plus side, he was still awake when his phone rang.

Percy snatched the phone off the bedside table and hit the button to answer the call before it could wake up Ryder. "Hello?"

"Hey." Annabeth's voice was quiet and tired.

"Hey, babe." Percy rolled onto his back. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Did I wake you up?"

"Nah, I was still awake. But isn't it like midnight? Don't you have to be up early?"

He could almost hear her shrug. "Couldn't sleep."

When she didn't say anything else, he said, "You know you're going to do great tomorrow."

"I hope so." She exhaled. "I don't even know why I'm so nervous. I mean, I know what I'm talking about. But so do these people and what if, I don't know, they ask questions I can't answer or have issues with the methods I'm suggesting, or—"

"Annabeth," Percy said firmly before she could work herself up any further. "You _redesigned Olympus_. You have more actual architectural design experience than anyone else at that conference. You absolutely know what you're talking about. You're going to kill it tomorrow."

After a few moments, she said, "Thanks, Percy. I needed to hear that."

"Yeah, well, that's why you married me, right? For the pep talks?"

"That's one reason. There might be a few others." From her tone, it was clear she was smiling. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too," he said, his own voice quiet. It was true, even though she'd only left this morning. But she was still going to be gone almost four days. It was the longest they'd been apart in quite a while. "Conference going well, though?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Nothing too groundbreaking yet. The hotel is really nice though. I wish you could have come with me." There was a slightly different note in her voice that made Percy swallow hard.

"That would have been nice." Percy glanced over at his son, whose face was squashed against a pillow. He was drooling. "Except, you know, we kind of have this kid…"

Annabeth laughed softly. "True. How is my baby?"

"He's good." Percy briefly debated telling her about the dead fish, then decided now wasn't the time. "He was singing that song in the bathtub again. The one he made up about the whales and turtles or whatever."

"Too cute. Did he go to bed okay?"

"Yeah. Well, sort of."

"He's sleeping in our room, isn't he?"

"Dang, you're good."

"Thank you. So that's why you were still awake. Did he leave you any space?"

"A couple inches. I'm good."

"Dork." She paused, then asked, somewhat hesitantly, "Is he—do you think he misses me?"

"Absolutely. He keeps asking how much longer until you come home. Like when we got back from the park. And at dinner. And before bathtime. So yeah, I'd say he's definitely missing you."

"I'm missing him, too. I realized this will be the longest I've ever been away from him. Since he was _born_. I seriously might have to fly home early."

"I mean, _I'm_ not going to complain if you do that. But why don't you call and talk to him when you're free tomorrow? That might help."

"Yeah. I will." She yawned. "Okay, I probably should try to go to sleep. I have to be at the event center by nine. Of course, I'll probably wake up plenty early to throw up again."

"Hopefully not." Percy had seen her this intense about a project a few times over the years, but nothing was worth making herself sick over.

"Yeah. I know it's dumb, I shouldn't be a nervous wreck over this presentation. But the firm chose me specifically and I just really want to do an amazing job."

"You will," Percy assured her. "Because you're amazing."

"You're sweet. I love you."

"Love you, too. And hey, just remember to breathe. You're going to do fine."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're probably right." She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm honestly saying good-bye now because we both need to sleep. I have a presentation to give and you have our little monster to wrangle."

"Good thing I've had some practice with that."

"Definitely." She yawned again. "Night, Seaweed Brain."

He smiled. "Night, Wise Girl. Sleep well."

"I'll try." Her voice was already sounding sleepier as she said again, "I love you. And give Ryder a kiss for me."

"Will do. Love you, too."

Percy's own eyelids felt heavy as he hung up the phone and laid it back on the nightstand. Gods, talking to Annabeth just reminded him how much he missed her. It had barely been a day, but already he wished she was home. He always felt slightly off-balance when she was gone. Slowly, though, he fell asleep to the distant hum of the air conditioner and his son's deep, even breathing.

Percy woke with a grunt when a three-year-old's knee planted itself in his gut. When he opened his eyes, he found Ryder sitting on his stomach, frowning at him. "Daddy, I's hungry. Want a pancake."

Oh yeah, this was totally his kid.

"I think you mean, 'Can I have a pancake, please?'" Percy said, cringing a little bit because wow, he really did sound like a parent. But working on 'please' and 'thank you' was kind of a project at the moment.

"Want a pancake, please?"

_Close enough._ Percy closed his eyes again for just a moment, then said, "Alright, Ryder. Let's get breakfast."

Ryder was quiet all through breakfast, though he had no trouble devouring his pancakes and bacon. But once his plate was empty and there was syrup all over his face, he asked, "Daddy, can I feed fishy?"

Percy felt a small stab in his heart. Normally, the first thing Ryder did every morning was feed his goldfish. But obviously, today…well, the routine was a little different. "Actually, Ry, you don't need to feed fishy today. I'm sorry, buddy. But we can go check on him in a minute. First, though, can I tell you something?"

After a moment of consideration, Ryder nodded. Percy leaned his elbows on the table, thinking, then looked at his son. "A long time ago, I lost some close friends. They were people I cared about, like you care about your fish. It made me really sad when they died. Is that how you feel?" When Ryder nodded again, Percy smiled and said gently, "It's okay to feel sad when you lose someone. But we had a special thing we did for our friends when they died. We'd decorate a shroud for them. Would you like to do that for your fishy? You can draw a special picture for him."

Ryder agreed, so Percy grabbed some paper and crayons from a drawer. Before his son started drawing, though, Percy walked with him up to his room, where they solemnly dipped the belly-up goldfish out of the tank with a little green net. Ryder's lip trembled as Percy gently slid the fish into the empty macaroni and cheese box left over from dinner last night. Percy closed the box, then put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Alright, little guy, let's go draw."

Ryder's drawing skills were slightly more advanced than a normal three-year-old, since he loved sitting next to Annabeth with his own paper and crayons when she was sketching, and she loved helping him with his pictures. But he still needed Percy's assistance to sketch the outline of a goldfish in the center of the page. Percy let him handle all the coloring on his own, though. When Ryder declared that he was done, Percy helped him formally fold the brightly colored paper around the macaroni box. Then they headed to the backyard.

His son stood by solemnly, clutching the macaroni box, while Percy quickly dug a small hole in a corner of the backyard. Then he helped Ryder to gently lay the box with the fish in it in the bottom of the hole. They stood there for a moment. Percy wasn't sure what to do next. But Ryder's bottom lip was trembling again, so Percy knelt down and put an arm around him. "Hey, Ry, do you want to say something nice about Fishy? What was your favorite thing about him?"

After thinking about it, he said, "Fishy was happy. And he liked his food."

"Yes, he did," Percy agreed solemnly.

"Now you go, Daddy."

Percy cleared his throat, trying to think, then said, "I thought it was cool that Fishy always liked when you told him good morning and good night."

Ryder nodded, even as he sniffled. "Now what we do?"

"Now we'll say good-bye to Fishy and bury him." Percy kissed the top of his son's head. "Let's do it together."

So, together, they said good-bye to Fishy. Then, Percy handed Ryder a trowel so he could help shovel the dirt over the little box.

When they went back in the house, Ryder still looked glum. So Percy sat down on the couch and pulled his son into his lap. "Can I tell you a story, little guy?" When Ryder nodded, still sniffling, Percy cuddled him closer and said, "So, a long time ago, your mom and I got in some trouble. We were in a really dangerous place, and we needed some help. Luckily, we had some friends who helped us. Their names were Bob and Damasen."

"Mommy said that's a bad word," Ryder interrupted.

"Uh, what?"

"She said that when she burned her finger and then told me it's a bad word and I no can say it."

Despite the circumstances, Percy had to fight down a grin. "And Mommy's right. But it's okay when it's part of a name. So anyway, we had these two friends…" Percy told the super watered down version of the story, appropriate for a three-year-old, but getting across the point that their friends had been important and helped them. Ryder listened intently, sucking on his thumb, which he hadn't done in over a year, but Percy let him. He finished the story by explaining, as gently as he could, what had happened at the Doors of Death, the sacrifice Bob and Damasen had made so Percy and Annabeth could escape.

"So your friends died too?" Ryder asked around his thumb.

"They did." Percy gently pulled his son's thumb out of his mouth and held onto the small, slightly spitty hand. "But we can always remember them by telling stories. You can remember your fishy that way, too. Want to tell me a story about Fishy?"

Ryder nodded. He launched into a story about his fish which Percy knew was mostly made up, but that was fine. Then, when Ryder asked, Percy told a story about Fishy, which, again, was largely made up, and maybe partly based on a movie, but whatever. It seemed to make his son feel better.

Since Percy was off today anyway, he decided to take Ryder to the park again. Today, though they went to one they didn't visit much, since it was about twice as far from home as several other parks. But it was a lot bigger, with more playground equipment, and an ice-cream stand, so it felt like a special treat. Especially when they got hot fudge sundaes. Ryder ended up with hot fudge all over his face, shirt, and somehow even in his hair, so Percy cleaned him up in the bathroom, then they went back to the playground so Ryder could run off all the sugar.

Annabeth called while their son was running in circles going up and down the slide. When Percy asked how her presentation went, she said, "Oh my gods, Percy, it was amazing! Seriously, it went so well. Everyone seemed to really get what I was talking about, and they had great questions afterwards, and I had no problem answering them, and it was just…really great." She breathed a relieved sigh. "I honestly can't believe it went so well. But I'm also so glad it's over."

"I bet." Percy smiled. "But I'm not surprised it went well. I told you you'd be great."

"You did." Another happy sigh. "So, how are you guys doing?"

"Pretty good. At the park right now."

"Oh fun. Is he running circles around the slide?"

"Of course."

"Aww. I miss him."

"We miss you. But only a few more days right?"

"Three," Annabeth said sadly. "Well, just the rest of today, then Friday and Saturday, and I'll be home Sunday. That sounds so long!"

"Yeah. Are you liking the conference though?"

"It's been interesting. And really helpful for networking, especially since, you know, I've been thinking about taking on some more freelance work. So that's been good."

"Cool." Ryder ran up to Percy then and tugged on his leg, pointing at the swings. "Okay, little guy, we'll go swing. Hey, do you want to talk to Mommy first?" When Ryder's green eyes lit up and he nodded enthusiastically, already reaching for the phone, Percy said, "Hey, Annabeth, you want to talk to Ry?" When she agreed as enthusiastically as their son, Percy crouched down to hand the phone over to Ryder.

The first words out of his mouth were, "Mommy, my fishy died."

He gave her the full story, even about the shroud and the funeral and the hot fudge sundae, over the next couple minutes. Percy was close enough to catch parts of Annabeth's responses, which were reassuring and sympathetic. But then, after Ryder finished telling about the slide, she said, "That sounds fun. And now you're going to go on the swings?" When Ryder said yes, she said, "Awesome. Well, have fun, baby. I love you so much. And I'm sorry about your fishy. Can you hand the phone back to Daddy?"

"Yes. Love you, Mama!" Ryder held his arm out to pass Percy the phone, then tugged on him again, pointing at the swings. Percy nodded and followed his son across the playground.

"Why didn't you tell me about the fish?"

"Because you've been stressed out about your presentation and I didn't want to distract you." Percy tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could lift Ryder onto the swing and start to push him. "Besides, there wasn't anything you could do about it."

"First of all, it's never distracting me when it's about our son. Nothing else is as important as Ryder. He's my absolute first priority. And _you_ are a close second. So if it's something about either of you, I want a phone call." When Percy didn't respond, she asked, "Percy, did you hear me?"

"Yeah, I did." Percy gave Ryder another push, and the three-year-old squealed. "I was just waiting for the second."

"What?"

"You said 'first of all', so I was waiting for the second part."

"Oh." Annabeth paused. "There is no second part. I don't know why I said that. It just seemed to fit." After another brief pause, she sighed and said, "I'm really tired."

"Got it," Percy said. "And you're right. I'm sorry, I should have called. Won't happen again."

"Okay." Annabeth sighed again. "Look, I know how I get about work. And I know _you_ know how I get about work. But our family comes first. Always."

Percy smiled as he gave Ryder another push, watching his son happily kick his legs. "I hear you. We're on the same page."

"Good." After a moment, she asked, "Speaking of work, do you have to go in tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I do." Percy made a face. "I tried to take off, but there's some stuff that has to get done before the weekend. Piper's in town, though, so she said she'd hang out with Ry tomorrow."

"He'll love that," Annabeth said.

"Because he'll be completely spoiled," Percy finished and Annabeth laughed. Ryder started to whine about being done swinging, so Percy grabbed the chains to slow the swing down while he said, "As long as they don't go on another toy shopping spree, we'll be fine."

"Oh gods," Annabeth groaned. "Please tell her we have no more room. Actually, you know what, I'll call her too. There's a one toy limit."

"Sounds good to me," Percy said. Since his son was still whining, and since it was definitely lunchtime, Percy decided it was time to head out. "Hey, babe, I think we're getting ready to leave the park. It's lunchtime and somebody's getting a little whiny. Did you need anything else?"

"Nope, I just wanted to check in with my boys." The smile in her voice was evident. "I love you."

"Love you, too. We'll see you in a few days."

The rest of the day was relatively calm, although Ryder did ask occasional questions about his fish. He struggled with it again at bedtime, when he usually told his fish good-night. But Percy told him he could still say good-night and his fish would hear him in fishy heaven. That seemed to help. Ryder still asked plaintively if he could sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room again, but Percy managed to persuade him to sleep in his own bed. Which meant that Percy got to collapse into his own bed, feeling drained by the past twenty-four hours, and thinking that sometimes being a parent was as exhausting as battling a giant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Thanks for reading! Third and final chapter will be up next week.***


	3. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Here's chapter three, the final official chapter of the story. However, there will be a bonus chapter up later this week. Thanks for reading and thank you so much to everyone who has commented and left kudos on this story!***

* * *

Friday was a chaotic disaster of a day. Percy hadn't realized just how much he and Annabeth split responsibilities both with Ryder and around the house until he was handling everything himself for a few days. It was exhausting. And while he was one hundred percent in support of his wife's career, and knew she'd do the same for him, he was ready for her to come home. Everything always seemed better when they worked together as a team.

It didn't help that he ended up having a crazy busy day at work, which he hadn't been expecting. Luckily, every time he checked in with Piper, she said Ryder was fine and they were having a good day. So that was a relief. But by the time Percy left work that evening, almost an hour later than he'd planned, he was drained.

Ryder seemed happy when Percy picked him up, plus two new toys courtesy of Piper, but unfortunately that didn't last long. He started whining almost as soon as they got home. Percy put on his son's favorite TV show, but Ryder wasn't interested. He kept wandering back into the kitchen, where Percy was trying to make dinner, and repeatedly asking for Mommy and then his fish, and, after Percy patiently explained several times why he couldn't see either of them right now, Ryder demanded cookies.

"We're eating dinner first," Percy said firmly, struggling to stay patient.

"Want cookies."

"You can have a cookie for dessert. But first we're having spaghetti."

"Don't want that. Yucky." When Percy didn't respond, partly because the pasta was threatening to boil over, Ryder huffed in annoyance and flung his new stuffed horse across the kitchen, then yelled, "WANT A COOKIE!" so loudly and suddenly that Percy jumped.

"That's _enough_ , Ryder Chase," Percy said. His son froze when he heard his middle name. When Percy gave him a stern look and pointed at the thrown toy, Ryder slowly walked over to pick it up, dragging his feet and taking as long as possible. After he finally retrieved it, Percy said, "Thank you. Now why don't you go back out and watch your show while I finish dinner?"

"No." Ryder stomped his foot, face set in a stubborn pout.

Percy set a pot down hard on the stove and took a deep breath. "Son, go watch your show. Now, please."

"No." Ryder crossed his arms and plopped down right in the middle of the kitchen. His expression wasn't that different from the way Annabeth had looked facing the sphinx in the Labyrinth. Percy sighed.

"Fine, then, sit there." He finished making dinner while stepping around his son, who decided at one point to sprawl face down on the floor and scream. Percy let him; they'd found that when they didn't give attention to the tantrum, it went away a lot faster. Still, he was getting a pounding headache.

Naturally, this was when Annabeth chose to call.

"Hey, babe," Percy said, phone balanced between his ear and shoulder as he tried to finish cooking while also trying not to trip over his wailing kid. "Listen, can I call you back later? I mean, is everything okay or is this an emergency?"

"Everything's great," Annabeth said. "Is it okay there?"

"Yeah, uh, pretty much." Percy nearly dropped the phone as he dumped the spaghetti into the colander to drain. "I'm just trying to get dinner together and our son is currently throwing a fit, so…yeah."

"Got it. That's fine, just call me back later. And, if it helps, you can remind Ryder that he only gets the really cool present I'm bringing him if he's good."

"Thanks, I'll tell him. Talk to you later."

By dangling the addition of a really cool present from Mommy that he would only get if he was good and ate his dinner, Percy was able to get Ryder calmed down and eating. The three-year-old was slightly more pleasant once there was food in his stomach, but he was still acting unusually whiny, and Percy was starting to suspect that, on top of being tired from a full day hanging out with Piper, the little guy was missing his mom and his pet fish. So, once Ryder was in his pajamas and his teeth were brushed, the two of them curled up on the couch to watch a movie. Percy went with Cars, one of Ryder's other favorites. His son snuggled up against his side and the movie had barely started when his eyes began to droop. Once his breathing was deep and even, Percy gently scooped him up and carried him to his room.

After tucking his son in, Percy stumbled across the hall and fell face first onto his own bed with a groan. Yeah, he was totally ready for his wife to come home.

Speaking of which…

Percy rolled over so he could dig his phone out of his jeans pocket. With a massive yawn, he called Annabeth.

When she picked up and said, "Hey, baby," her voice was soft and thick.

"I woke you up, didn't I?" Percy asked.

"Mmhm. But it's okay. Did Ryder go to sleep?"

"Yeah. Passed out watching Cars."

"Good choice." She yawned, then asked, "How are you doing?"

Percy closed his eyes and exhaled. "Honestly? I'm exhausted. Work was crazy today, and it shouldn't have been, so that didn't help. But seriously, I'm getting my mom the most amazing Mother's Day gift ever this year, because I have no idea how the heck she did this alone for years. Kids," he said heavily, as if this were a major revelation, "are a lot of work."

Annabeth laughed lightly. "Yes, they are."

"And we only have one," Percy added. "I mean, it's totally worth it, obviously. But yeah, I'm a little tired."

"Are you saying you need me, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked teasingly.

"I've always needed you, Wise Girl."

"Hmm, true. Must be why you married me."

Percy grinned. "Well, one of the reasons, anyway."

"You're cute." She yawned again. "But seriously, can you imagine how much busier we'd be with a second one?"

"That would be intense," Percy agreed. "I mean, I'm not opposed to it. As long as we both agree to never go out of town again. Unless we both go and someone else watches the kids."

Percy could tell by her voice that Annabeth was smiling when she told him, "You're ridiculous."

"Ridiculously in love with you," he said, just to hear her laugh again.

It worked. "I love you too, Percy."

He opened his eyes. Lights from the street outside threw strange shadows across the ceiling. "So how's the conference going?"

"It's good. I felt like I could actually relax today, and there were some interesting panels. Plus I had lunch with a woman who's the head of this major design firm. She was apparently impressed by my presentation yesterday, and we got to talk about some possible freelance projects, so that was amazing."

"That's awesome," Percy said, and meant it. As much as she enjoyed working at her firm, Annabeth had been saying she was feeling limited by the types of projects the firm took on. They'd been less accommodating of her schedule lately, too, which was becoming an issue. So Annabeth had been starting to look for freelance projects to do on the side, to give her more creative options. Potentially, if that took off, she'd told Percy, she might eventually be able to leave her firm and just work on projects she chose to take on. That would also give her a lot more schedule flexibility, which she wanted. "So attending this conference has been worth it?"

"Definitely," Annabeth said. "After three straight days of this, though, I'm almost ready for an architecture break."

"Never thought I'd hear you say that." Percy smiled when Annabeth laughed again. "Maybe there'll be some good stuff tomorrow, too, though."

"I think there will be." She yawned again.

"Sounds like I should probably let you get back to sleep," Percy said.

"I guess. Are you guys doing anything fun tomorrow?"

"No plans. Ryder was pretty worn out today, so we might just hang out at home." He probably needed to clean the kitchen, too, but his wife didn't need to know that. Then, because it was late and he was tired and they were talking quietly on the phone, he added, "And I'll be looking forward to Sunday."

"Missing me?"

"A lot," he admitted.

"I miss you, too," Annabeth said quietly. It maybe seemed silly, since they'd talked on the phone every day since she left, and she'd only been gone about four days, but it had been a while since they'd been apart more than a night or two. "This has been a really good conference, but I'm ready to come home."

"Just a couple more days."

"Yeah." Another yawn. "Okay, Percy, I'd better go before we both fall asleep on the phone."

"Been a while since that happened." He yawned. "Alright, well, enjoy the rest of the conference. We'll see you in a couple of days."

After they hung up, Percy didn't move from the bed. He knew he needed to get up, brush his teeth, put on pajamas, the usual, but he couldn't find the energy to move. He was just going to lay here another minute…just another minute…then he would definitely get ready for bed.

Just another minute…

He woke up to sun streaming through the window and his son frowning down at him. "Daddy, why you no under the covers?"

Percy blinked a few times, then cleared his throat and sat up. "Oh, uh, just fell asleep too fast, buddy. How—how long have you been up?"

"I just waked up." He pouted and hugged the stuffed horse he'd dragged up onto the bed with him. It was one of the new toys Piper had bought for him yesterday. "I miss Fishy."

"I'm sorry, Ry." Percy held out an arm and Ryder crawled onto his lap. "You're probably going to be sad and miss your fishy for a while. And that's okay."

Ryder nodded. In a soft voice, he said, "Want Mommy."

With a pang in his chest, Percy kissed the top of his son's head. "I know, buddy. She'll be home tomorrow." _Thank the gods._ "Do you want pancakes?" When Ryder nodded, Percy gave him an extra squeeze, then said, "Alright. And hey, you know what? Since it's Saturday, let's add chocolate chips."

Ryder cheered up a bit over blue chocolate chip pancakes. They had a pretty relaxing day after that. Ryder played with his toys while Percy cleaned the kitchen and straightened up the rest of the house. Then, because they were both miserable without Annabeth home, Percy ordered a pizza for lunch (which he almost never did). Since the day had turned stormy, he gave the pizza guy a very good tip.

Later that afternoon, Ryder was sitting at the kitchen table drawing "fishy heaven" while Percy had his laptop out, catching up on a few urgent work e-mails. When the front door opened, he jumped. His hand went instinctively to his pocket, where Riptide still lived, though he'd been fortunate enough not to have to use the sword in a while. He was already on his feet and moving towards the doorway when a voice called out, "I'm home!"

"Mommy!" Ryder scrambled down from his chair and beat Percy out the door. Percy followed him quickly, flashing back to too many experiences with monsters who mimicked voices. But relief surged through him when he found Annabeth in the doorway, already kneeling down and holding out her arms so Ryder could run into them. He nearly knocked her off balance when he flung his chubby arms around her neck and Annabeth laughed when she hugged him.

"Hi, baby! I missed you." She cuddled and kissed Ryder, who was bouncing up and down and saying, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" over and over again, like he couldn't believe she was home. When Annabeth stood up, holding Ryder on her hip, she also quickly swiped away a couple tears, but she was smiling when she met Percy's eyes. Her hair and clothes were damp from the rain outside, and his heart was racing like when they were teenagers. "You just going to stand there, Seaweed Brain?"

Percy had been standing in the doorway, but now he grinned and moved forward. He pulled Annabeth close and kissed her, maybe not as long as he wanted to what with their son squirming between them, but long enough to make it clear exactly how much he'd missed her. "Welcome home."

Ryder dragged them back to the table so he could show Annabeth his drawings. In between his chattering, Annabeth managed to explain to Percy that, after checking the schedule for Saturday and Sunday, she'd realized there wasn't anything that she absolutely had to attend and a lot of the panels were over similar topics to things she'd already heard. "I'd done everything I needed to do there. So, I decided to come home early," she said with a shrug, running her fingers through Ryder's tousled hair as he happily colored his drawing.

"Obviously, we're both totally okay with that." Percy slid his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek.

"I figured." Annabeth tilted her head and caught his lips in a quick kiss.

Since it was nearly dinner time, Percy called in an order to their favorite Chinese takeout place while Annabeth showered and changed clothes. Once she came back out, so she could keep an eye on Ryder, he ran out to pick up the food. When he got home, he found Annabeth and Ryder sitting on the living room floor, building something with the new blocks she'd brought for him. Percy couldn't help the wide grin that spread across his face. He hated to interrupt, but they both looked up when he shut the door, so he held up the takeout bags and said, "Dinner's ready."

After dinner, Annabeth took over Ryder's bathtime, "because I've been gone for days and I missed him," while Percy cleaned up from dinner. Then he popped up to the bathroom to shift the water from the floor back into the tub before ducking into his son's room, where he found Ryder curled up in Annabeth's lap, his eyes drooping drowsily while she told him a story in a quiet voice. Percy gave his son a quick good-night kiss, then went back out to the living room and flopped on the couch.

Annabeth came out a few minutes later. She dropped onto the couch next to him and, without saying a word, lifted his arm, letting it drop around her shoulders as she snuggled into his side. Percy felt the tension in his own shoulders melt as his hand settled on her hip. The TV droned on, but neither of them was really watching it. It was nice to just sit in comfortable silence for a minute, readjusting to being back together. Finally, Percy murmured, "Ryder asleep?"

"Mmhm." Annabeth's fingertips traced patterns on his chest that sent shivers down his spine. "He asked for another story about Bob and Damasen. Apparently you told him about them after his fish died."

"Yeah. I tried to water it down, you know, just hit the basics. We were someplace scary and we needed help, and so these friends helped us. And it was really hard when they died, and it's okay to be sad when you lose a friend."

"I told him something similar. With a few details about Small Bob. Because he was cute." Annabeth's palm pressed over Percy's heart. "I think you handled everything amazingly with the fish, by the way. You're a really great dad."

"Thanks. I needed to hear that." Percy exhaled, then took her hand and lifted it to his lips. "I am very glad you're home, though. This parenting thing is a lot easier as a team."

"It definitely is." Annabeth pressed closer. "But do you realize…we kept our promise."

"What do you mean?"

"At…at the Doors. I told Bob we'd keep their memory alive by telling our children about them. And now we did."

The revelation nearly knocked the wind out of Percy. He hadn't been thinking about that when he'd told Ryder the story. It had just felt right, given the situation. "Yeah, we did."

Annabeth had resumed tracing patterns on Percy's chest. "I know we had so many friends and people who helped us over the years. But that was the lowest point. I mean, if Damasen hadn't arrived when he did, if Bob hadn't been willing to hold the button…that would have been it."

Percy swallowed and tightened his arm around her. "It would have been. We wouldn't be here right now."

"Our son wouldn't even exist," Annabeth mused. She cut a sideways glance at Percy. "Neither would the new baby."

"Yeah." He processed her words as if they were on a delay. "Wait, what?"

"Hmm?" Annabeth tried to look like she didn't know what he was talking about, but there was a small smile playing across her lips.

"You're pregnant?"

Annabeth gave a shrug like, _Yeah, pretty much_ , but she was still smiling. "I've been feeling sick for a couple weeks, but I figured it was because I was nervous about my presentation. And we've been so busy that I kind of lost track of time and things, but after I gave my presentation on Thursday and then I still threw up on Friday morning, I started thinking, and it kind of hit me. So I ran to the drugstore yesterday evening and got a test and…yeah."

Percy was a little stunned. They hadn't really been trying. Of course, they hadn't exactly been not trying either and they'd talked about having another baby. They just hadn't made a decision yet. But apparently the decision had been made anyway. He felt a grin spread slowly across his face. "So we're having another baby?"

Annabeth was biting her lip, but it couldn't hide her smile. "We're having another baby."

"I love everything about that sentence." Percy couldn't wait any longer. He pulled her closer and kissed her, the way he'd been wanting to since she'd come home. Even after all this time, she could still make his brain melt. "And I love you."

"I love you, too." She brushed her hand across his cheek. There was something almost marveling in her voice when she said, "We have a _family_ , Percy. Can you believe it?"

The swell of emotion in his chest made it hard to speak. He traced his thumb across her cheek. "It's hard to believe sometimes," he admitted. "But it's awesome. It's so awesome."

"Definitely." Annabeth kissed him again.

When he pulled back, though, Percy asked, with a grin, "So, last night, when I said that thing about us only having one…"

Annabeth started laughing. "Oh my gods, I almost told you right then. I so wanted to. But I really, really wanted to tell you in person and see your face."

"I'm glad you waited. It's a lot easier to do this when you're not hundreds of miles away." He leaned over and kissed her again, feeling her smile against his lips.

They were interrupted by the soft padding of little feet coming down the hall. Ryder appeared in the living room doorway, rubbing his eyes. He had his arm locked around the neck of his stuffed horse, his hair was sticking up in every direction, his pajama shirt was hitched up so that his belly was sticking out, and Percy thought he was about the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.

"What's up, buddy?" he asked.

Still rubbing his eyes, Ryder muttered, "Bad dream."

"You want to come sit with us?" Percy asked.

Ryder nodded. When he spotted Annabeth, his eyes lit up and he said, "Mommy's home!" like he'd forgotten that.

She held out her arms and he crawled into her lap. "Yeah, baby, I'm home." She kissed his tousled hair. "I'm sorry you had a bad dream. But Daddy and I are here. You're safe. Everything's fine. Okay?"

He nodded again, already looking content and sleepy. "Love you, Mama. Love you, Daddy."

"We love you, too, Ryder." Percy squeezed his foot. With his arm around her waist, his other hand was resting lightly on Annabeth's stomach. He met her eyes over the top of their son's head and knew they were feeling the same thing, though it was almost impossible to put it into words. It had been a long and often painful road to get here. But moments like this made everything worth it. The future they'd worked and hoped for was right here in their arms.

* * *

When Kira Sally Jackson was born, her big brother wasn't sure what to think of her at first when his parents brought her home. But after he got to hold her, and she looked up at him for a few moments before blinking slowly and falling asleep, he announced solemnly that he liked his new baby sister even better than his new beta fish.

"That's good to hear," Percy said, equally serious. He ruffled his son's hair with one hand while keeping the other securely supporting his daughter, just in case Ryder forgot he was holding a baby. "I like her too."

"They're both pretty great," Annabeth said as she came back into the living room and sat down on the couch, looking tired but happy.

"Definitely." Percy met her eyes, and they shared a smile. Life was good.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Thanks again for reading! The bonus chapter will be up later this week!***


	4. Bonus Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Less than a week until Tower of Nero! Here is the bonus chapter, which takes place about four years after the end of the story. It's just short, but I hope you like it. Thanks for reading!***

* * *

The movie droned on the TV. Annabeth wasn't really watching it. Neither was Kira, who had finally fallen into a fitful sleep, curled against Annabeth's side, head resting on her mother's leg. Annabeth ran her fingers through her daughter's dark hair, then lightly felt her cheeks and forehead, which were still pretty warm. Her fever hadn't broken yet.

Kira had been sick all day. Annabeth had woken up at three in the morning to retching noises from across the hall and a small, quavering voice calling, "Mama? Daddy?"

While Annabeth cleaned up their four-year-old, Percy cleaned up the puke on the floor and threw her sheets in the laundry. At one point, their eight-year-old son stumbled out of his room, rubbing his eyes, and asked what was going on. When Ryder heard his sister had thrown up, he nodded sagely, muttered, "Gross," then turned and walked back into his room. Kira spent the rest of the night in her parents' room, which meant they spent the rest of the night taking turns washing out the bucket she was puking in.

Fortunately, Percy wasn't going into work until late afternoon the next day, so he was able to stay home with Kira while Annabeth went to work. Unfortunately, when she got home a little before four, having left early, Kira was still miserable. Percy didn't look much better.

"She can't keep anything down," he told Annabeth while he was hurriedly getting changed for work. "Fever's stayed around a hundred. I talked to the pediatrician about noon and she said just keep giving her fluids as much as possible and to go to urgent care in the morning if she's still throwing up. But she thought it's probably just a twenty-four hour bug."

"Probably." Annabeth crossed her arms as she leaned against the doorway of the walk-in closet. Her eyes slid over her husband's bare chest before he pulled his shirt on. "And she's napping now?"

"Yeah. Went down about half an hour ago. Ryder's finishing his homework, then I told him it's fine if he wants to play video games for a while. And he asked about pizza for dinner, but I said that's up to you."

"This might be his lucky night. I'm exhausted, Kira won't be able to eat it anyway, you're leaving, so yeah, pizza sounds easy."

"He'll be thrilled." Percy paused in the doorway. "Save me a couple pieces?"

She smiled. "Of course."

"Thanks, babe." He kissed her, slow and sweet, a moment of calm in an otherwise hectic day. "I probably won't be done until about midnight, but if you need anything or Kira gets worse, just call me."

Now, it was a little after ten and Kira had managed to keep down a popsicle, some Gatorade, and a few bites of chicken soup broth for nearly three hours. Annabeth had called Percy an hour and a half ago, just before she started the movie, to tell him the slightly better news, and he'd been relieved. Annabeth was too, but she'd feel a lot better if her daughter's fever broke. Until then, though, as much as she liked the warm weight of Kira curled against her, she suspected her daughter might sleep a lot better in her own bed.

Kira whined slightly when Annabeth shifted to turn the movie off and picked her up, but then she wrapped her little arms around Annabeth's neck and buried her face in her shoulder, making Annabeth's heart melt. She hated that her daughter was sick, but she loved holding her baby. Both of them. More than she ever really thought she would. There was something deeply satisfying in the way her daughter cuddled against her, a feeling she couldn't fully put into words.

On the way to Kira's room, she paused at Ryder's door. She'd tucked him into bed a couple hours ago, and he'd gone down happily after an evening of pizza and video games, though he'd also made sure to check on how his little sister was feeling several times. Annabeth bit back a smile when she saw him sprawled on his bed, half his covers kicked off. He was drooling onto his pillow. Making a mental note to cover him back up before she went to bed, Annabeth crossed the hall to Kira's room.

She got her daughter into her pajamas and tucked in, then kissed her forehead and said good night. But when Annabeth moved to leave, Kira said, "Mama, stay."

Annabeth hesitated, torn because she needed to work on some sketches for a meeting tomorrow and the dishwasher needed to be emptied and there was at least one load of laundry that needed to be done… but when Kira looked up at her with sleepy, fever-glazed gray eyes, and reached out towards her, there was no debate.

"Okay, baby," Annabeth relented. "I'll stay." She sank to the floor beside Kira's bed, resting her head and arm on the mattress. Looking pleased and content, Kira slipped her hand into Annabeth's. Annabeth swallowed the unexpected lump in her throat and gently squeezed her daughter's fingers. They felt tiny and fragile in her palm.

It didn't take too long for Kira to fall fast asleep. Soon, her breathing was deep and even. Although her cheeks were still too pink in the dim glow of her dolphin nightlight, her face was more peaceful than it had been all day, and Annabeth could almost start to relax. She rested her head on her own arm and watched Kira sleep for a few minutes, feeling her own eyes growing heavy. But she couldn't sleep yet. There was still stuff she needed to do tonight. With a deep sigh, Annabeth sat up straight, though she didn't let go of Kira's hand.

She really, really needed to at least make a few notes and rough sketches for the meeting tomorrow, just enough to get through the initial brainstorming session. Her eyes darted to the bed. Kira was completely out. Annabeth could get up, run across the hall to her office, grab her sketchbook, and probably be back without Kira ever knowing.

But her daughter had asked her to stay, and Annabeth had promised she would. No way was she getting up from this spot. Instead, she yawned and grabbed a couple sheets of drawing paper off Kira's little easel, then rummaged through a box of loose crayons until she found a dark blue colored pencil. Good enough. Using a picture book balanced against her knees as a desk, Annabeth started working with her left hand, while her right was still holding Kira's.

After about an hour, her eyes were starting to get blurry and a headache was pounding in her right temple. But she had enough to go on for the meeting at noon. With a heavy sigh, Annabeth set her makeshift desk down and rubbed her eyes. She turned to check on Kira and found that her forehead was sweaty, strands of dark hair sticking to her skin. Annabeth's heart leapt. She touched the back of her hand lightly to Kira's forehead and cheeks. Her skin was cool, like normal, not the overheated flush it had been. The fever must have broken. Relief swept through Annabeth.

Kira's eyelashes fluttered. When she opened her eyes, they were drowsy, but clearer than they'd been an hour ago. "Mama?"

"Yeah, baby, I'm still here," Annabeth murmured. "I'm not going anywhere."

Kira nodded, then curled onto her side, snuggling under her blankets. Annabeth smoothed her damp hair back, then rested a hand on Kira's back, until her breathing was deep and even again. Then she laid her head down on the edge of the mattress, and closed her eyes.

Sometime later, she jumped when a hand lightly touched her shoulder. "Sorry," Percy said when she looked around at him with wide, probably wild, eyes. "I didn't mean to startle you." He sank down onto the floor beside her. "How's Kira doing?"

"A lot better." Annabeth checked again, but there was no sign of a fever. Kira was still sleeping peacefully. "Fever broke a little bit ago. And she's kept everything down for several hours."

"Awesome." Percy leaned back against the bed and stretched his legs out. "But you're still just keeping an eye on things?"

"Yeah, kind of. Plus," Annabeth paused, then admitted, "she asked me to stay."

"Ah." His hand slid along the inside of her wrist, then he laced their fingers together. "Got it."

And she knew he did.

"By the way," he added, "I emptied the dishwasher and moved that load of towels over to the dryer before I came upstairs."

"I love you." Annabeth tucked her feet underneath her, then leaned into Percy's side, resting her head on his shoulder. "Did you check on Ryder? He'd kicked half his blankets off earlier."

"Yeah, covered him back up. Although I think we're fighting a losing battle on that one."

"I know." Annabeth closed her eyes. "I just don't want him to get cold."

"Same." Percy yawned. "So last night was cleaning up puke at three in the morning, tonight is sleeping on the floor. I guess that's how this parenting thing works?"

"Mmhm. Was this what you pictured when you started thinking about our future when you were sixteen?"

Percy laughed softly. "Not exactly. But," he kissed her forehead, "it's better."

And she knew what he meant.

They fell asleep that way, curled up on the floor next to their daughter's bed. None of them woke up until the next morning when Ryder stumbled in, yawning, and said, "Hey, Mom? Dad? It's seven-thirty. Don't I go to school at eight?" And the morning devolved into a rush of hectic getting-ready chaos. Which wasn't fun. But there were worse things in the world. And even if life wasn't exactly perfect, it was still mostly good.

**Author's Note:**

> ***Thanks for reading! There will be three chapters total to this story. Chapter Two will be up next week.
> 
> *A quick note on Ryder's name: my head-canon is that at some point, while discussing baby names, Percy and Annabeth looked at each other and agreed absolutely no Greek-myth related names for their kids. And Ryder sounded kind of unique and cool, in the same way the names Annabeth and Percy/Perseus are unique and cool.****


End file.
